Instead of continuing to push into outlying counties, which is often fraught with hostile growth debates, Developers are looking for development closer in that can sustain denser projects within walking distance of rail stations.
"Just as Metrorail stations attracted commercial and residential development in the suburbs in the 1970s and '80s, Virginia Railway Express stations are becoming the new magnet for growth in Northern Virginia. Manassas Park officials unveiled the plans for "Park Center" at a public hearing last month. Planners and developers in Fairfax, Prince William and Stafford counties are turning previously open and out-of-the-way land near VRE stations into potentially bustling complexes of hotels, restaurants, office parks, apartments and single-family homes. Many have the same goal of building "walk and ride" communities, where people can live, shop, eat and commute to their jobs. In Maryland, planners are looking at commuter rail stations with the same expectations."
Thanks to Christian Peralta
FULL STORY: Developers Finally Get On Track
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research